Apart from the satisfactory outcome of the trade, Locke had also gained something unexpected.
Back in the tent, Chief Shabille pointed at the major monster hide and other materials on the ground and said, "We don't want these things!"
"Okay." Locke had only taken out all the valuable items he had. It was up to Chief Shabille to choose what he wanted.
"On the contrary, if you need it, our tribe will provide you with some major monster materials every once in a while!" Chief Shabille's words were shocking.
Bond didn't seem surprised at all. He knew a lot about Chief Shabille's tribe, so he knew that the major monster materials wouldn't be as simple as' a portion '.
Unfortunately, his family wasn't involved in the business of major monster materials. What was precious to outsiders was nothing but trash to Bond's family.
Chief Shabille wasn't just talking to Locke, but also to Raphael and Gauss who were beside him.
To Locke's surprise, Raphael and Gauss rejected Chief Shabille's offer.
Their families were indeed very large, but it was precisely because of their profound family knowledge that the two noble children knew a lot at a young age. Their families were not in the business of magical beast materials.
The Aomar Empire was a complicated business, and if they really wanted to get involved, they'd have to bribe a lot of people. Most importantly, the Glint Plains was too far away from their family's territory, and the transportation costs alone would be a problem.
In the end, Locke said that he'd consider it, and Chief Shabille's expression softened a little.
Billie's family's business was mainly in Princeton, and they also had some business in other provinces, but not much. He could ask Billie about it when he got back. Even if it didn't work out, he wouldn't lose anything.
They didn't accept Chief Shabille's invitation to stay, and the four of them left together in the afternoon after the trade was completed.
Blood essence was a rare treasure that could repeatedly improve a knight's strength. Bond and Raphael wanted to use it as soon as possible.
Before he left, he took a look at the teru that had been staying by the riverside for the past few days. Although it was about to reach the other side, he didn't see any signs of weakness.
However, the blood essence in his hand couldn't be faked. Perhaps it was to intimidate the surrounding clans.
Chief Shabille's tribe only had a few hundred people, yet they were able to occupy a small part of the river. Without sufficient strength, it would be impossible for them to do this.
Although a Teru Beast was a high-level magical beast, its magical abilities were not strong, its physique alone was not something that ordinary people would dare to provoke. Moreover, it was a magical beast that excelled in strength.
The journey back and forth was not much different from the journey on the Litte Plains. As for the few nomadic kingdoms deep in the center of the plains, due to the short amount of time, the group did not specially visit them.
Not all countries were friendly with Aomar. Locke could clearly feel that the grassland barbarians were more afraid of them than anything else.
After they bought some local specialties from a settlement called Gibb at the border of the Lit Plains, the Aomar Empire's border appeared in front of them.
The rest of the trip was out of touch. Bond had to return to the southwestern province to report to his family. Gauss and Raphael headed east and north respectively to continue their tour.
According to the two of them, they wanted to enjoy themselves before the end of the holiday.
Locke couldn't agree with the unruliness of nobles.
Since he had nowhere else to go, he decided to return directly after rejecting Raphael and Gauss's invitation.
He'd reaped quite a haul this time. Just the sixty grams of blood essence in his spatial ring alone was enough to trade for about thirty thousand gold moores on the empire's black market. Most lesser nobles probably had about that much in their entire fortune.
Of course, he had to pay a price for it, such as the blue heavy armour.
He hadn't used it many times since he got it from Glace's treasury, mainly because of its weight.
Moreover, his impetus was of the wind attribute. Although heavy armour had strong protection, he was more inclined towards light armour overall.
He followed the Sanggan River all the way south. This was the largest canal in the empire. Locke had passed by it several times, so he was familiar with the route and headed straight for Princeton.
"An auction?" Locke looked at Billie who had come to visit.
"Yes. Are you interested?" Billie waved the gilded invitation in her hand.
The next day, Locke walked out of the mansion in a cloak and boarded a carriage with Billie, who was similarly dressed.
"What kind of trade fair is it?" Locke asked. He still didn't know the details of the event.
"Well, it's jointly organized by our family and a few other merchant families. It's a private event," Billie explained, "Most of the attendees are people that our families are on good terms with."
The venue of the trade fair was an inconspicuous shop on Sanschel Street.
It was inconspicuous in terms of its location and decorations. It was just a small grocery store, but it was completely different inside. Be it the attendants checking the invitations at the staircase or the powerhouses hiding around the store, Locke couldn't afford to underestimate them.
There were quite a number of attendees. Luxurious carriages would occasionally pass by on both sides of the street. Gentlemanly nobles and ladies would alight from their carriages and enter the inconspicuous grocery store.
When it was Locke and Billie's turn to check the invitations, the attendant didn't stop them. He didn't even open the invitation. Instead, he greeted Billie respectfully, "Miss."
Billie's expression didn't change much as she followed Locke into the passage at the back.
Locke sneaked a peek at Billie. She seemed to be even more complicated than he had expected.
When he returned a few days ago and asked if she was interested in the major monster material business, she didn't even think before replying, "Yes!"
"I'll write a letter of recommendation for Chief Shabille," said Locke, trying to strike up a conversation.
"Okay." Billie nodded, not taking it to heart at all.
Locke suddenly felt the urge to ask Joaquin how big Billie's business was.
A small grocery store indeed had a lot of secrets. The passage was unreasonably long, and as they walked, they gradually headed downwards.
"The auction is underground," said Locke. He'd learned a lot in the past few years. There were many underground buildings in Princeton. In his first year here, Henry had dragged him to an underground bar a few times.
In Locke's eyes, there was no difference between an underground bar and an aboveground one. The taste of the alcohol didn't change, and the waiters didn't look any better either. He really didn't know why Henry was so passionate about it.
Of course, an auction couldn't be compared to a low-class place like a bar. The carpet in the passage and the fluorite inlaid around the passage for lighting showed how expensive this place was.
Locke suddenly regretted agreeing to Billie's invitation so hastily. He'd already taken out all his spare money when he bought the blood essence, and Angelina had been doing experiments in the academy these days, so he couldn't borrow money from her.
"I should've asked Glace for an antique jewellery or two when I came out," said Locke regretfully. Locke was annoyed. As they spent more time together, he became closer to the two women he'd slept with. Their assets had become public, and he and Glace also asked each other for money, but not often.
Glace's wealth mainly came from the antiques, handicrafts, and jewellery she'd brought out of Shalor. In terms of culture, Shalor had surpassed Faustian and its neighbouring countries, so the Aomarian nobles were very fond of the things she brought over.
Because of this, Glace was the second richest person in their family, followed by Angelina.
There were a lot of good things in Kristin's spatial necklace, but she was very stingy. She didn't usually use the things inside and only used the pocket money that Locke gave her. Only Glace and Locke could ask her for the various things in the necklace.
"Did you not bring enough money?" Billie seemed to have noticed Locke's predicament and asked thoughtfully. She took out two gold cards from her purse, the kind that could be exchanged for a thousand gold moores each.
"No need." Locke wasn't that close to Billie yet, so he couldn't just borrow money from her.
"You can auction things here, right?" asked Locke.
"Of course." Billie didn't expect Locke to ask that.
They finally reached the end of the long path, and the huge underground space was finally revealed. Gold coins were everywhere, and Locke was really curious about how these rich people managed to create such a place.
Locke and Billie were seated in the third row, but they weren't in a hurry to sit down.
"If you want to auction something, I'll bring you backstage," said Billie with a smile.
The items that had been decided to be auctioned had already been booked three days ago. The sudden addition of items might affect the progress of the auction, but it didn't matter. After all, Billie was the young master of the auction.
No one stopped them, and they entered the backstage unimpeded.
"Invite Grandmaster Rhys out," said Billie to a servant who was working at the side.
Not long after, a balding old man with blond hair appeared in front of Locke and Billie.
"What would you like to auction, sir?" The old man was a discerning man, and he could tell that the knight brought by his mistress was the one he needed to serve.
After hesitating for a moment, Locke took out ten grams of blood essence from his spatial ring.
"Oh? That's a rare item! " Master Liso recognized what Locke was holding right away. He wasn't worried that it might be a fake because the strong smell of blood from the blood essence was proof. Plus, Locke came with Billie, so Liso didn't have to inspect him. ()
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